{"id":3222,"date":"2014-12-11T12:08:46","date_gmt":"2014-12-11T16:08:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sighthoundunderground.com\/http\/?p=3222"},"modified":"2014-12-11T12:08:46","modified_gmt":"2014-12-11T16:08:46","slug":"yes-virginia-it-really-is-the-holiday-season-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sighthoundunderground.com\/http\/yes-virginia-it-really-is-the-holiday-season-again\/","title":{"rendered":"Yes, Virginia, It Really Is the Holiday Season Again"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yes, it really is December \u2013 already and again. All the leaves have fallen, some places have snow on the ground and many of us have pulled out the heavy doggie sweaters for our fur-deficient Sighthounds<\/p>\n

So now is the time to revisit some Holiday Pup-Proofing Tips. As we\u2019ve noted before, it\u2019s no fun to spend Christmas Eve at the e-vet. Here are 10 ways to make sure you have a very happy holiday this year:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Keep ornaments up high. They don\u2019t digest well. Neither does tinsel, garland or twinkly lights. Consider putting a barrier around the tree to keep the pets from grabbing a nibble. The barrier is also a good idea if your dog likes to sample the water in the tree stand. That can make him sick. Best yet, put the tree in an \u201coff limits\u201d room.<\/li>\n
  2. Also watch your decorative plants. Mistletoe and holly can cause vomiting. Poinsettias, despite their reputation, are not deadly and often cause little more than mild stomach upset. But it\u2019s still best not to tempt fate by placing them where hounds can snatch a sample.<\/li>\n
  3. Watch the candy dishes, too, and keep them out of reach of pets. No candy is good for pets and chocolate can be lethal.<\/li>\n
  4. During family gatherings and holiday parties, it might be best to keep pets confined. Not only can all the coming and going make some pets anxious, but the doors may be open more frequently and for longer times, and pets may try to escape. Spending Christmas Eve looking for a loose Sighthound is no fun at all.<\/li>\n
  5. Keep the people food snacks to a minimum. Yes, there will be lots of cooking going on and it\u2019s easy to drop a few tidbits on the floor, but too much rich food won\u2019t sit well with pets\u2019 digestive systems. And it settles on their hips, Just as it does on us.<\/li>\n
  6. Be careful with candles. They shouldn\u2019t be left unattended anytime, but candles on lower tables are especially vulnerable to being knocked down by rambunctious pets \u2013 with disastrous consequences.\"rama<\/a><\/li>\n
  7. Loud noises can panic some pets, and lead to injuries. Remember that before cracking out the New Year\u2019s poppers, noise makers or champagne bottles.<\/li>\n
  8. When unwrapping presents, keep ribbons, paper, packing peanuts, bows and even batteries away from pets. Better yet, keep pets away from the whole present opening extravaganza.<\/li>\n
  9. Pick your own pet presents with care. And if you have multiple dogs, be careful when introducing high value goodies that can cause disagreements and destroy the holiday spirit.<\/li>\n
  10. With the winter weather upon us, take a few minutes before the holiday spirit gets in full swing to double-check fences and gates. Make sure no gaps have been created, branches haven\u2019t knocked out a part of the fence and that the wind can\u2019t blow gates open. If you haven\u2019t already, and you live in an area of winter weather, make sure you\u2019ve stocked up on pet-friendly ice melt.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    SHUG wishes all of you the very best for the holidays and the happiest New Year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Yes, it really is December \u2013 already and again. All the leaves have fallen, some places have snow on the ground and many of us […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3225,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[236],"class_list":["post-3222","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general-sighthound","tag-holiday-tips-for-dogs"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/sighthoundunderground.com\/http\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/xmas.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p52ryM-PY","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sighthoundunderground.com\/http\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3222"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sighthoundunderground.com\/http\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sighthoundunderground.com\/http\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sighthoundunderground.com\/http\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sighthoundunderground.com\/http\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3222"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/sighthoundunderground.com\/http\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3222\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3228,"href":"https:\/\/sighthoundunderground.com\/http\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3222\/revisions\/3228"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sighthoundunderground.com\/http\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3225"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sighthoundunderground.com\/http\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3222"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sighthoundunderground.com\/http\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3222"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sighthoundunderground.com\/http\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3222"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}